Liberal Democrat Leader Ming Campbell has criticised the Government for failing to learn the lessons of the summer’s floods. He was in Gloucestershire visiting a fire brigade control room that is facing closure. As the BBC reports:

He said: “The government is compromising safety and could be putting lives at risk by introducing regional fire and rescue control centres.

“Closing down locally based centres will severely undermine a community’s ability to cope with emergency situations such as flooding, while regional centres will lack crucial local knowledge.”

He added: “It is high time that the government realises that a one-size-fits-all approach to fire and rescue centres will not only put public safety at risk but will also stop close co-operation between local fire, ambulance and police services purely because of a Westminster diktat.”

In relation to construction on flood plains, Sir Menzies said ministers should put people’s minds “at rest by giving responsibility for flood defences to one agency who will ensure defences are adequate before any building takes place”.

He added: “Gordon Brown promised a full review on the floods so that lessons could be learnt, but the government appears to being going full speed ahead on moves which may lead to increased risk of devastation when flooding occurs in the future.”

Commenting ahead of the summit of the Group of Eight leading industrial nations, Liberal Democrat Leader Ming Campbell warned the G8 leaders that they should not seek to play politics with the issue of climate change by reaching compromise solutions that go against scientific advice.

In particular he warned that any attempt by the United States to circumvent global talks that will take place under the auspices of the United Nations in December would be disastrous.

As Africa will also be a key focus of the Summit, Ming stressed that it is in developing countries where the impact of global warming is felt the most.

He called on the leaders at the summit to meet their obligation to Africa and the developing world by supporting an international ‘Leapfrog Fund’ which would provide resources to facilitate the development of low carbon technologies.

(more…)

Urging people to vote Liberal Democrat in the 2007 May elections, Ming Campbell focused on crime and the environment, the key themes that the Liberal Democrats have been campaigning on:

“Labour has presided over a failing criminal justice system. Less than one in 100 crimes are now punished in court, violent crime has risen, and reoffending rates are now at record levels. Mr Cameron is not prepared to speak plainly about what needs to be done either. But I am.

“We need a new approach to crime. We need to make prison work by rehabilitating prisoners and cutting reoffending. We need more police on the streets. We need to take back our town centres by allowing communities to close the pubs and clubs that cause trouble. We need compulsory work and training to give prisoners the skills and opportunities that make reoffending less likely. We need a Victim Compensation Fund, paid for by prison work. And, to increase public faith in the system, we need honesty in sentencing: sentences should mean what they say.

“On the environment, Labour’s record is wanting too. When Britain most needed a green chancellor, Tony Blair gave them a Brown one. The Chancellor’s record on tackling climate change is one of inaction and delay. He could have raised green taxes but he chose not to.

“But for us concern for the environment is not a passing fashion but a central and longstanding principle.

“That is what our politics is about. An adherence to principles even when the prevailing fashion is ranged against them. That’s why we voted against the Iraq war when the fashion in Parliament and the media was to be for it.

“It’s why nearly two decades ago we adopted radical policy proposals to cut emissions and curb climate change. We didn’t need to wait for a focus group to tell us what to do. The other parties may favour fashion over principle. But we won’t.”

You can read in detail about the Liberal Democrat policies for cutting crime at www.wecancutcrime.com and for improving the environment at www.libdems.org.uk/environment

If you need to contact your local council about the elections (e.g. to request a replacement postal ballot paper) you can find details at www.aboutmyvote.co.uk or you can contact the Liberal Democrats on 020 7222 7999.

Liberal Democrat Leader Menzies Campbell has launched the Climate Change Starts at Home campaign, cementing the party’s position as the greenest of the three major parties.

Visiting a house built in the 1870 which is undergoing improvements to make it more energy efficient, Menzies Campbell unveiled bold proposals that demonstrated how upgrading Britain’s homes could reduce carbon dioxide emissions by millions of tonnes, save energy, and lead to significant cuts in energy bills. Introducing the measures outlined in the policy paper could save more carbon than is produced every year by all the cars on Britain’s roads.

Read more on the Liberal Democrat website.

Ming Campbell recently took part in a Q+A session run by Friends of the Earth. You can watch the highlights on Friends of the Earth’s website.